The Many Moods of Zoe

Happy

So happy

Affectionate (we tried to teach her to give kisses and this is the result )

Serious

Mischievous

Curious (and oh, so sweet)

Restless

Zoe Liremet at 10 Months

Our sweet girl is now a big 10-month old!  She’s at such a fun age – funny, feisty, curious, chubby, wiggly, and snuggly.  I know that I’ve said this in every single monthly update, but we cannot believe how well she is doing.  It’s hard to believe that we’ve only been a family for four months now, because it’s really difficult to recall what life without her felt like.

And since this blog is essentially ZL’s baby book, I must document a few things about her 9th month of life.

• She is *finally* sleeping through the night. Before we were parents I had no idea that there were so many philosophies and opinions out there on sleep – and so many very, very strong opinions at that.  I’m not looking to start any kind of debate about parenting styles and sleep here (or be judged for that matter) but I will tell you what worked for us.  Let me just say that we went through several weeks where not a single one of us was getting any quality sleep. And that is a miserable way to live.  We really thought we would be strict no-cry parents.  And then we found ourselves with a baby that couldn’t sleep.  So we tried a few of the no-cry approaches and nothing worked.  Some nights we were getting up every hour all. night. long.  Some nights we would be up for 2 or 3 hours in the middle of the night.  And then after doing a lot of research we decided that perhaps a little crying was in order and we tried a new approach (Dr. Ferber, to be precise) that involved letting her cry for a few minutes at a time and then going in to comforting her.  And after 1 night of this (that involved less than an hour of crying) she’s slept completely through the night ever since.  Amazing.  Maybe not for everyone, but it definitely worked for us.  And I would say there has been no damage done to sweet ZL and we’re all (including her) in a better place now that we’re sleeping.
• She has two teeth!  Perhaps a couple more on the way, but her smile is officially toothy these days.
• She’s not yet crawling or pulling up but she has still managed to find ways to be mobile.  We’ve been saying for weeks now that she’s about to start crawling because she gets in the position and rocks, but nothing yet.  She mostly gets all set to crawl and then decides that it’s not worth the effort, flops on to her back, and rolls across the room.  We’ve gotten just a glimpse of what life will be like once she’s a threat to anything in her path and let me just say that I think it’s going to rock our world.
• She loves to entertain people.  If she does something and it makes you laugh you can bet that she’s going to do it again and again and again.  Right now, her favorite thing to do is make this totally adorable face where she scrunches up her nose (I am yet to capture it in a picture) and does this fake laugh/cough thing.  It never gets old. I think it confuses people that don’t know what she’s doing because it looks like she’s in some type of pain or maybe that her nose itches, but Matt and I have realized that we scrunch our noses up at her all the time and she’s just following suit.  And because it makes us laugh every time she does it over and over and over.
• She just keeps getting louder.  She’s not yet at a point where you can reason with her to be quiet or tell her no, so it’s always a bit risky to go anywhere her screeching might bother other people. But of course, we still think it’s funny.  And when she gets really excited, she adds some bouncing up and down and arm-flapping to her screaming for effect.  Matt took her to her first basketball game this week and apparently she danced and squealed (one could argue it’s more like screaming) in his lap through the entire game. And she made the “fan can” on the jumbo-tron – because she’s so dang cute .  She’s still jabbering like crazy and we’ve really noticed some changes in her ”talking” lately.  It’s starting to sound a lot more like she’s actually trying to express herself than just blabbering.
• We’re starting to work on sign language because she is definitely imitating us these days and seems to understand when you ask her to do certain things – like peekaboo or “How big is Zoe”?  It’s hard for us to not just keep asking her to do trick after trick (clap your hands, wave bye-bye, raise the roof (shameful-I know-but so cute)) because it’s so very cool and exciting to see that she understands what we’re asking her to do.
• She’s still the happiest baby I know.  I don’t know how much you can tell about personality when kids are this age, but she’s so very laid back, easy going, and up for about anything.  And this sounds kind of cheesy when you’re talking about a baby, but she just seems to love life.  The smallest things just make her giddy.  And she doesn’t get upset about much – unless she can see her bottle and you waste time giving it to her or she has an ear infection and her parents are too dumb to realize it.
• Every day, she seems less like a baby and more like a little girl.  It’s bittersweet because I so look forward to every new thing that she’s going to do and it’s just amazing to watch her grow and develop, but at the same time it’s just going by so fast.  When I look at pictures of that tiny baby we met in Ethiopia it hardly seems like the same girl.  I guess that could be because she’s gained 8 (yes – 8!!) pounds in the last four months.  From 3rd percentile to 50th percentile (13 lbs to 21 lbs) in no time.

Little Chickadee

It could be considered cruel what we parents do to our wee ones come Halloween time…but how can we be expected to resist when they look this darn cute.

Zoe’s Big Adventure

We just returned from our first plane trip with Miss Z.  I had to go to the Seattle/Tacoma area for a conference and since Matt’s sister lives there he and Z decided to tag along.  It was a wonderful weekend to be in the Northwest because in spite of its dreary reputation there was nothing but blue skies, sunshine, and incredibly comfortable temperatures.  Zoe was a wonderful traveler this time around.  She loved all of the new sites and sounds of the airport and plane and charmed all of her fellow passengers.  The only peeps she made on the airplane were squeals of delight which were mostly received with looks of “aw, isn’t she cute” rather than “would you please shut that baby up”.  Zoe got to meet her Aunt Mary and Uncle Todd for the first time. They all got to spend some quality time together – riding ferries, traipsing around Seattle, shopping – while I sat in a drab conference room listening to speaker after speaker talk about the same darn topic.  I had to keep reminding myself that was the whole point of the trip and that anything else was just bonus.

And speaking of bonus, to top it off, we made a quick overnight trip down to Portland for a mini-reunion with 3 of the families we traveled to Ethiopia with.  I can’t really explain the bond that we feel with these families, but it is very special and like nothing else.  I mean, we met our children together.  We shared some of the most emotional experiences of our lives with these people.  And it was so, so good to see them and their precious children again.  The last time we saw all these kiddos – and they saw Z – they were all scared and a bit shell-shocked and so unsure of their new parents and surroundings.  This time, the whole place was abuzz with happy and rambunctious babies and toddlers and it was just so much fun.  Z officially wins the award for the “most changed” now outweighing everyone in the group except for the oldest who is three (and she is the youngest, by the way).  We did a bit of exploring in Portland and squeezed in an authentic Ethiopian meal before heading back to Seattle.

Life has been a bit crazy since we returned trying to catch up with everything at work and home but we are slowly getting back in the swing of things.  It seems that takes considerably longer when there is a little member of the family.  It doesn’t help that the little one has suddenly decided she doesn’t need to sleep for more than an hour or so at a time.  Not sure what’s going on – maybe some west coast jet lag? maybe a bit of separation anxiety? maybe she just got used to sleeping with us? maybe some teeth? -  but I am sure hoping that things get better soon.  Four nights of this and I’m already pooped.  I don’t know how you moms with newborns do it for those first few months.  Anyone else run in to sudden sleep problems around the 9-month mark?  Any advice?

Off to bed, but I know my mom won’t be happy if I don’t post a few pictures first.

Anxiously awaiting take-off.

About midnight on the airplane.  Not even a yawn (except from Matt and I).

At the market

On the ferry.

With Aunt Mary

Crib-mates.  Made my heart melt to see these two reunited.

Portland Rose Garden

Isn’t she a doll?

Zoe Liremet at Nine Months

Hard to believe that we’ve been home for almost three months now.  The sweet, tiny, quiet baby that we first met in Addis Ababa is now chubby, happy and oh so loud (but still very, very sweet).  It’s been a month of big changes for our little family, as Zoe gets used to spending her days with her wonderful babysitter and I get used to spending my days away from her and in the presence of adults talking about numbers and accounting rules again.

So, here’s what our big girl has been up to this month:

• She is just so, so happy.  I mean, like, happy all. the. time.  And not just flash a quick smile happy, but scream at the top of her lungs and flap her arms with so much excitement she can hardly contain herself happy.
• I’m pretty sure she is teething.  Finally. We’ve been saying that for almost three months now, but I think this is the real deal.  I can actually see the outline of teeth in her little swollen gums.  But if she’s in any discomfort we wouldn’t really know.  She’s still happy all the time in spite of those pesky teeth trying to force their way into her mouth.
• She’s not crawling yet, but she is all over the place.  She does a lot of rolling around and lots and lots of squirming.  She just will not sit still whether in your lap, on your hip or sitting on the floor.  We’re taking a trip in a couple weeks that requires several hours on an airplane, so that will make this interesting.  And she’s getting so strong on her legs standing up.  She can go from sitting in our lap to standing without much help and she can prop herself up on the coffee table (but not pull up yet) and stay there for quite some time without any help from us.  And she loves to stand up so much that she wants to do it all the time.  Sometimes I wonder if she’s not going to skip crawling all together and move straight to walking.
• She is so loud these days – in the most adorable way.  (At least it’s adorable to us.  Not sure how cute our fellow passengers will think her howler monkey screaching is, but her daddy and I think it’s quite endearing.) She has really found her voice and it is so fun to watch her discover new noises that she can make.
• She’s started imitating certain things.  She started clapping and we’re getting close to waving.  Right now, she’s figured out how to wave, but she waves at herself some of the time and at totally random times – never when we try to get her to wave “hi” or “bye”.  She also waves at pictures of herself.  For some reason she loves nothing more than to stare at, laugh at, wave at or talk to her own picture.

Catching My Breath

Wow, it’s been a crazy few weeks. My return to work (at one of the busiest times of the whole entire year), a long weekend away (packing when a baby is involved is not easy), colds for the entire family, an ear infection (complete with ruptured ear drum) for poor ZL, and then on top of it all…jury duty for me this week. Needless to say in the midst of trying to deal with runny noses and oozing ears and most importantly settling in to our new routine and of course performing three days (and counting) of public service at the most inopportune time, there has been little time for blogging.

We are doing very well. Going back to work has been difficult, but honestly not as hard as I thought it would be. I think this is partly because I eased back in to working slowly over the course of a few weeks. But mostly I think it’s because we have found such an answer to prayer in Z’s babysitter. And then maybe it also has a little to do with the fact that I’ve been so busy at work that I can hardly see straight and 8 hours at the office only feels like about 30 minutes.  I really miss my time at home with Zoe, but I do enjoy my work and the people that I work with.  I wish there were an extra 8 hours in the day so that I would have plenty of time for both.

Zoe is still doing so great.  She’s become quite fidgety and very vocal these days. While she used to be content to just sit in our laps now she is constantly straining to grab something or see something or get down so that she can stand up.  She’s smiley and chatty and giggly. She’s quickly approaching the nine month mark.  Sometimes I look at her and she just seems so big and grown up to me — and it makes me so happy to see her growing and developing like she is but also a little bit sad to know that she will only be a “baby” for just a little bit longer.

On the Mend

I’m sure everyone has been anxiously awaiting an update on Dolly’s condition.  I’m happy to report that she seems to be doing much better these days.  After our visit with the vet, we kept her on the doggy version of prozac for a couple weeks before deciding it wasn’t necessary anymore.  At her worst the poor dog spent all of her time huddled under the shed in the back corner of our yard.  It would take forever to lure her back inside with much begging, promise of doggy treats, and threats of beatings muttered under our breath.  Once she did come inside she would dart through the living room (covered in mud from burrowing under the shed) and head straight for her “den” under our bed.  When she did hang out with us she would climb on the furniture in ways we had never seen before and walk along the back of our sofa.  After a few weeks of this, I was almost as big a mess as she was.  It just broke my heart to see our sweet Dolly act like such a freak.  And then of course there were the times when I really just wanted to strangle her for being such a pain in the behind.  Anyways, all that to say that I think we’re  very close to having the real Dolly back.

Family Photos

While Matt has taken lots (and lots and lots) of wonderful photos of ZL since we have been home, it is quite difficult to take family self-portraits and so we have no pictures of all three of us together.  So we asked our friends Matt and Heidi of Freedom Photography to do a family photo shoot for us.  I love, love, love the way the pictures turned out.  They did an amazing job! Here are just a few of my favorites.

Zoe’s Weekend

Just thought I’d share a few pictures from Zoe’s weekend.  It was gorgeous here.  80 degrees in sunny.  In the Midwest.  In the middle of August.  Unheard of.

Z fell asleep while we were getting ready for the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning.  We missed out on the fresh peaches, but who cares.  Just look at that precious face.

We went to a lovely outdoor wedding and Z did so great.  She was sweet and charming and didn’t make a single peep during the ceremony.

She fell asleep in her car seat on the way home from church.  I thought it was so sweet how she snuggled in to Matt on her way to bed that I just had to snap a picture.

We spent some quality time playing in the backyard this afternoon.  She loves being outside.  Every time she feels a breeze she gets this huge grin and sticks her tongue out.  It’s really cute.

We finished the weekend with a play date with Z’s favorite (and only) cousin.  These two are going to be big buds, I think.  They’re only about a month apart (Z’s older although you wouldn’t know it because Cousin C is a big boy) and are already very cute together.

Zoe Liremet at 8 Months

Our girl turned 8 months old this week.  I could spend a few sentences telling you hard that is to believe and how fast she’s growing up, but that’s what everybody says about their kids, so I won’t.  But just in case you were wondering — it is hard to believe and they do grow up fast.  In light of how fast time flies, there are a few things I want to remember about month #8.

• I would officially call her a “sitter”.  It’s how we spend most of our play time these days.  In fact, just yesterday I moved the play mat out of the living room because she’s just not that in to laying on her back and kicking around anymore.  It felt like a big milestone.

• I would also officially call her a “talker”.  Or at least a “jabberer”.  It seems that she adds a new sound to her repertoire every day.  This morning Matt tells me that she said hi — or at least something that sounded an awful lot like it.

• Shortly after we arrived home I mentioned how much she loves the Jumparoo and showed you this picture:

Zoe still loves the Jumparoo but no longer needs any assistance.  In fact, she is now able to man-handle those toys that once dangled so far above her head and jumps with so much force.

• She still hates tummy time.  We try all kinds of tricks to take her mind off of how much she hates it but nothing seems to work all that well.  These days she’s so good at rolling over that when she doesn’t feel like participating she just flops over.  Either that or she lays down, sucks her fingers and goes to sleep.

• It seems that she thinks she’s as beautiful as we do.  Perhaps because we tell her over and over how pretty she is.  Two of her favorite things to do are to stare at herself in the mirror or look at the pictures of herself on the wall.  Look at that profile, though.  Can you blame her?!

• She smiles and laughs at the drop of a hat.  When we first met her, we probably only got a total of 5 smiles, and no laughs in that first week.  Now, all we have to do is look at her and she gets smiley and lets out a small giggle.  When she’s really happy the tongue comes out too.

• She just started reaching for me and it just melts my heart.  A couple nights ago she was in someone else’s arms and decided she wanted me instead.  She got all pouty faced and lunged for me.  It was one of the sweetest things ever.

• I’m hoping in this ninth month of her life we can make a little progress in the sleep department.  We’ve been trying to wean her off her two night time bottles ever since we got home without much luck.  Most nights we’re just down to one but sometimes the only thing that will put her back to sleep is to stick that bottle in her mouth.  We’ve had a couple of nights where she pretty much slept through the night but so far we haven’t really had a complete night’s sleep yet.  Maybe tonight’s the night.  Please?!

We love this baby girl more than we ever could have imagined and are in awe every single day that God has allowed us to be her family.